High Def 2.0 Conference Award-winners

 

One of the highlights of the High Def 2.0 conference happening in Los Angeles this week, was an awards ceremony where critics and bloggers (my invite must have been lost in the mail) voted on the best high definition disc releases to date.  All Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD titles released since the launch of the two respective formats were eligible. 

And the winners were:

High Def Title of the Year: 300 (Blu-ray), Warner Home Video

Best Live-Action Blu-ray: Casino Royale, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Best Live-Action HD DVD: Hot Fuzz, Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Best Animated: Ratatouille (Blu-ray), Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Best Picture Quality: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (Blu-ray), Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Best Audio Quality: Transformers (HD DVD), Paramount Home Entertainment

Best Bonus Feature: 300 (HD DVD), Bluescreen Picture-in-Picture, Warner Home Video

Most Innovative Use of New Technology: HD DVD U-Shop feature (Internet purchase ability), Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Best Long-Form Music Video: Dave Mathews & Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City Music Hall (Blu-ray), Sony BMG

Best Catalog: Kingdom of Heaven: Director’s Cut (Blu-ray), 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Best Collection/Multidisc Set: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Blu-ray), Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

 

So, of the 9 non-format specific categories, Blu-ray won 6 and HD DVD won 3.  One of HD DVDs three wins was for creating a new way to get money out of consumers post-sale (thanks guys!), and another was for the picture-in-picture feature also found on some Blu-rays.  The third was for the non-lossless audio track of Transformers... not sure how that happened.

Blu-ray, meanwhile, won the awards for title of the year, best animated title, best picture quality, best music title, best catalog title, and best collection/multidisc set.  Wow... that was a nail-biter.  Somehow, I'm sure the red side will find a way to take this as good news, but I have no idea how.